Padang Floods Again in October 2026 as 1926 Disaster Record Resurfaces

Padang was hit by major flooding again after high-intensity rain fell across the area from Saturday, Oct. 10, to Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, according to jejakperistiwa.id. The two-day downpour revived discussion of the city's exposure to hydrometeorological hazards, especially when rain is intense and prolonged. Detailed information on the impact of the latest event was not included in the available material.

The recent flood resembles a disaster that struck the same region about a century earlier, particularly in how flooding followed heavy rain. That parallel has brought historical disaster records back into public discussion. Rather than treating the 2026 event as isolated, the comparison links it to a long record of disaster experience in Padang.

The older disaster occurred on April 8–9, 1926, when heavy rain began around 6 p.m. and continued until 6 a.m., lasting about 12 hours. As the night darkened, water rushed from the mountains toward lower ground, rivers overflowed, and the flood canal could not contain the flow. Residents heard a roaring sound as inundation spread through several parts of the city.

Homes, houses, and shops were soon submerged as water entered buildings along the flood path. The 1926 flood left widespread physical damage, especially to connecting infrastructure: currents damaged or swept away bridges, while roads were badly eroded and mud covered stretches that remained passable. Railway lines were also cut or damaged, disrupting train traffic toward the highlands, and some surrounding areas faced landslides and flooding at the same time.

Casualty reports from 1926 described severe conditions. A house buried by a landslide killed a woman and a child, while another woman and her child were swept away and drowned as they tried to cross a bridge. The total death toll was not known precisely, but contemporary reports said many bodies were found after the floodwater receded, suggesting the true number may have been much higher than recorded.

Economic losses from the 1926 disaster were estimated at half a million gulden, described in historical sources as equivalent to about 2–3 tons of gold. European export firms and Chinese-owned import businesses were each reported to have lost around 25,000 gulden, while the city government recorded about 7,000 gulden in damage to roads and other facilities, with its total losses still unknown. Electricity was also out, leaving Padang in darkness, and aid later flowed from regions across the Dutch East Indies and from national figures who helped collect or distribute funds. The records resurfaced when Padang flooded again in 2026, underscoring the city's long experience with flood danger.